


According to Plan

by LadyLaela (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coming Out, Insecurity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-16
Updated: 2011-07-16
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:45:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/LadyLaela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Dave, please calm down, man...” John hugged himself, genuinely worried now. This was not going at all like he wanted. “L-look. Look, just listen for a minute... I realize it must be a really scary thing when you live in Texas, but it isn't like that where I live! So... so, you could tell me, okay? You could totally tell me if you were worried about something like that!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	According to Plan

Dave did something that John was pretty sure was unforgivable in his little ninja creed.

 _He underestimated John._

John had never thought it would come to this, but here it had – Dave had written John off as a helpless little derp, someone who needed protection all along, and this had allowed John to carry off his master plan.

He'd outsmarted Dave Motherfucking Strider.

The motherfucking was not in fact included as Dave had always said. It was one of the first things John had asked Bro upon his arrival to the Houston apartment, and the older Strider had shot him a quick 'it's Lee!' before flashstepping out of existence to avoid whatever nearby sharp thing Dave threw at him.

John had always suspected those uncomfortably warm feelings Dave gave him meant something – all those awkward dreams when he was hitting puberty, the chest-clutching sadness he felt whenever he saw Dave wasn't online. That fluttering in his stomach when they met in sburb, tempering his excitement like it hadn't with Jade or Rose.

He hadn't been a hundred percent sure until he'd seen Dave training, shirtless, on the roof in Texas.

 _Wow._

The way his muscles bunched and tensed and his torso twisted when he did a high kick, his body damp with sweat, every hard-etched plane obvious under skin that was perfectly smooth but for the fine line of red hair leading teasingly under the band of his jeans.

John had to excuse himself to spend a few fevered minutes in the bathroom.

He'd known then it was time to enact his master plan.

This plan consisted of grabbing Dave's face and kissing him when they were alone in his bedroom. Simple, one-step, perfect.

Now Dave was staring at him like an idiot, mouth slightly agape. He had blindsided Dave Strider.

Ten points to his prankster's gambit, level up, climb that echeladder. That was the real stroke of genius in his plan. If Dave freaked, write it off just like that.

“What the fuck was that,” Dave said dryly, and John's heart sank.

“Prankster's gambit. I got you,” he said, forcing a little laugh and his usual bucktoothed smile.

“No it ain't,” Dave said, and John noticed that his hands were trembling slightly.

... in fact, so was his voice behind his thick twang.

“Uh, yes it was, Dave,” John said in his most matter of fact tone, tucking away his hurt and disappointment behind his dorky smile. “Don't be silly, I'm not a homosexual!”

“... neither am I.”

The air in the room was tense, muggy and thick. And silent. Dead silent. Dave got up and started pacing back and forth, and John wanted, needed to say something. Somehow everything had gone wrong, things were awkward and their friendship would be ruined, but if he could just make a joke, just say something...

Suddenly, Dave turned to him, and even with the shades he looked angry. John flinched under the searing glare, suddenly sure nothing worse had ever happened to him, including being stabbed; than seeing the tiny but furious twist of Dave's mouth and knowing it was for him. “What the fuck didja think y'were fuckin doin, John? People just go randomly mackin on their best friends where y'come from?”

Just as suddenly John was backpedalling. This had been a bad bad bad idea, why had he ever thought otherwise, oh man. “I'm sorry, Dave...” he managed to whine out before his friend cut him off.

“Sorry? John, I'm not a fuckin faggot!”

“You're the one who always goes on about gay chicken and-”

“So you jus get all assumin with my sexuality, s'that it?”

Something in John's mind clicked. Once more, Dave had made him look like more of a derp than he usually did. Dave lived in _Texas_ , obviously he... “Dave,” John's voice dropped quiet and soft, trying to soothe Dave's anger, even a little. “... Dave, you're... you're gay, aren't you?”

“What did I jus say?” Dave said, his voice steely and actually raised a little. John flinched back.

“Dave, please calm down, man...” John hugged himself, genuinely worried now. This was not going at all like he wanted. “L-look. Look, just listen for a minute... I realize it must be a really scary thing when you live in Texas, but it isn't like that where I live! So... so, you could tell me, okay? You could totally tell me if you were worried about something like that!”

“Jus. Jus shut the fuck up, John. I wasn't countin on my best friend bein a fag.” The dark tone wasn't something John would ever expect from Dave, not in his worst nightmares.

“I'm not a-”

“Get out.” Dave's voice had dropped almost to a growl.

“Dave...” John said desperately, reaching out to put a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Get. Out.” The movement looked reflexive, but it didn't make it hurt any less when Dave's backhand hit him in the cheek.

Clapping a hand to his stinging face, eyes wide with shock, John absconded.

He had no idea where he was going, but he was caught by the arm in an iron grip before he could get there. He looked up at Bro's confused face, fighting down tears. “What the fuck happened in there?” the soft-spoken man said, keeping his grip on John's arm.

John couldn't bring himself to answer, but Bro was already bending to inspect the red mark on his cheek. “... did he seriously fuckin hit you?”

There was a whimper, and suddenly John was sobbing, and this was the most embarassing thing that had ever happened but he didn't care because he'd just lost the best friend he was maybe kind of in love with and his world was collapsing around him.

Bro towed him over to the futon, pressed him to sit on it, got him a glass of apple juice and sat down beside him. “Okay. Now tell me what the fuck happened.”

John did, forcing it out between sobs and wiping his nose on his sleeve. The words that they'd both said. He was worried about Dave. He kind of maybe loved him. He didn't want to totally lose him now.

When he was done, Bro just sort of stared at him for a good moment or so, before shaking his head. “Shoulda run that shit by me first. Figured y'had the hots for him, didn't think you'd be makin any moves. I coulda told y'the kid's so far in the closet he ain't even explorin Narnia, he's the goddamn king a'the place.” Bro shrugged. “I know y'mean a lot t'him. I'd be pretty surprised if he ain't all head over heels for you too. Tha's why he got so damn upset. He's tryin real hard not t'feel like that.”

“I g-guess he isn't going to want to be friends any more,” John said, his voice all quiet and cried out.

“I'm gonna go talk to him. He's probably havin a hell of a time sortin himself out.” Bro put a hand firmly on John's shoulder. “One thing I do know is that he regretted the hell out of hittin ya the second he did it. He's just got a real mean fuckin temper sometimes. Probably wants t'come apologize but his stupid denyin ass is too conflicted.”

John wiped his nose a final time, still mentally planning how to rebook his flight home. “... yeah.”

Bro sighed as he stood up. “Guess I did somethin wrong. Didn' mean t'raise him believin he had t'be some stereotypical red-blooded Texan male. Ain't like he got the idea from school, either, cause I jus did that shit here.”

John didn't know what to say, so he just rubbed at his puffy eyes and bit his lip with his big buckteeth.

“... you jus put on a movie n'drink your fuckin juice. I'll be out when the stubborn fuck starts seein sense.” Bro paused. “... could take two movies. Yeah.”

John put on The Knowing, even though Cage died in it. He let himself get right into the movie, willing himself not to think or worry or oh god what if Dave hated him.

It was a little more than an hour before Bro came out of Dave's room, wandering quietly into the kitchen like everything was normal. Dave followed a minute later, and John's stomach twisted all up in knots. Oh god, he was just going to throw up...

Then he realized that Dave's pokerface was somewhat compromised by the fact he'd obviously cried a little too.

Maybe even more than a little.

John's heart almost stopped when Dave sat down next to him on the futon, determinedly looking straight ahead as a hand that pretended to be confidant put itself firmly on top of John's. Bro might be a ninja, but John still saw the quick glance he shot over his shoulder at them.

Dave might be hard as anything to read, but John could tell he was scared as he leaned over and pressed his lips to the red mark on the heir's slightly swollen cheek.


End file.
